Twenty Two Weeks Old

Well, we have hit the 5 month mark and the sleep deprivation is really taking it's toll! Our little guy is SO incredible during the day...but he still can't figure out this sleeping business at night. Luckily, I have a very patient husband and a mom I can call 4 times a day if needed...because I am certain that I have been a very cranky and overly tired woman this past month!

We spent the week getting completely unpacked from the past two weeks! It was nice to have Tyler in town all week and weekend, so we met him out for lunch one day and enjoyed having him home for lunch during the rest of the week.

Tyler's parents came into town for a quick weekend visit! We did a little bit of shopping -- thanks KiKi for the CD player in Hayden's room!! He loves listening to the music. :) We had some yummy meals at the house and Tyler and I also enjoyed a wonderful date night. We had a cocktail before dinner, ate at one of our favorite restaurants, and even grabbed an after dinner glass of wine. It was a really nice treat!!

One Sunday I jumped into a huge project in our foyer...the weekend ended with me and the wall covered in BLACK magnetic paint. :) What on earth did I get myself into?!

Early the next week we jumped into the world of solid food....or at least we tried to jump in! Hayden was busy with other plans of being easily distracted by ANYTHING and clamping his lips together so we couldn't get the spoon in. But the spoon....he LOVED playing with the spoon!

(THANK YOU Aunt Sandra for the awesome bib!!)

SUCH a face!

We tried out a cool tummy time toy this week and H really responded well to it! It is supposed to help build his arm strength in addition to his neck...we are excited for him to use it. :)

And magically, I'm finally getting him to smile for the phone/camera!!

At the end of the week I grabbed a few pictures to celebrate his 5 month birthday. We took them in one of his superhero rompers (he has 3 now) because he has been LIVING in these for the past month!! They are light weight, stretchy and super comfy....PERFECT for being out and about during the summer!

Twenty One Weeks Old

After our long weekend at the beach, we had a quick turn around before Hayden and I were driving to Nashville with GiGi to visit my sister Tracy. We unpacked, did laundry and got everything repacked for our 5 day trip. We left on Thursday morning and arrived about 7 hours later. This was Hayden's longest car trip since we drove to Florida when he was 7 weeks old...and boy was it different! While he slept almost the entire way to Florida, now he is much more active which means he does NOT want to be in a car seat for 7 hours. But he was a trooper! We stopped twice on the way and actually made pretty great time.

Little guy with his traveling buddies...MOO and Mr. Giraffe. It cracked me up that he slept while holding the soft giraffe foot on his face. :)

And a picture to document his first hotel stay!

We stayed in that first night and looked forward to a fun weekend ahead! Aunt Tracy met us for lunch on Friday, but not before a hotel photo shoot on the great blue chair.

Hayden LOVED it when GiGi would kiss his feet!

He is still not quite hamming it up for the camera...but I love some of the moments we were able to capture. :) My fingers are crossed that one day this little guy will actually smile when he sees the camera!

We had a FABULOUS long weekend in Nashville...here are some of our favorite highlights:

FINALLY having breakfast at the Pfunky Griddle....pancake awesomeness!!

Roaming the streets of downtown Nashville...in search of the perfect little cowboy hat. :)

Time spent catching up in our suite, drinking wine and watching the baby for entertainment.

BATH TIME! Especially the towel snuggles with Aunt Tracy!

Twenty Weeks Old

On Thursday morning we packed up and loaded the car. Hayden, Tess and I drove all the way to Myrtle Beach without stopping...SUCCESS! Luckily my Grandpa and Corky met us when we arrived and helped me juggle the craziness that is getting a 70 pound dog and infant out of the car at the same time, in the heat, while the one who pulls like crazy on her leash is searching for a place to go to the bathroom! We made it upstairs and got everyone unloaded and set up. We brought in pizza for dinner and hung out until the Spicer Family arrived later that night. They had driven ALL THE WAY from Tallahassee just to spend the long weekend with us! We were so looking forward to Hayden meeting both of their little guys!!

On Friday morning we picked up Tyler from the airport and headed to the grocery store. Drew and Lindsey arrived later that afternoon to a rainy day. We stayed in for the most part and geared up for a weekend of fun in the sun. Brooke grabbed these pictures while we were hanging out. :)

On Saturday we spent some time on the beach! Unfortunately we got caught in a bit of a shower and ended up running up for lunch, IN THE RAIN, with 3 kids and almost all of our stuff....the beach with babies is a whole new ballgame. :) 

After all that excitement, it was time for a nap! GiGi has been helping us stock up on Favorite Blankets...she even found one in blue!

We headed out in the afternoon for some time at the pool. Then we had a yummy dinner at the condo and rested up for our pool day ahead. We were up early the next morning and excited to head down to the "water park" on the grounds. Brooke and Adam's oldest son is about 18 months old, and he loved EVERY BIT of playing at the park. When the little ones were ready for a nap, we made our way back to the pool by our building and enjoyed the wonderful and convenient cabana that Pop had reserved for us. It was a WONDERFUL home base for our 3 families and 3 kids. It was the perfect shady spot for us to park our things and relax.

We spent time in the pool...

...and relaxed in the shade!

We enjoyed SUCH a wonderful long weekend with some of our very favorite people. All the little guys were so well behaved and we could not have asked for a better family vacation. We sadly headed home on Monday missing the sand, the sea, and our fabulous Florida friends!

Nineteen Weeks Old

Tyler was away in Indy this weekend, so Hayden and I headed back to Greensboro for round two of visiting. We hit all of the family members during the weekend before, so this weekend we made sure to visit with some of our favorite friends! I went out for some "grown-up" time on Friday night to celebrate Matt's birthday while Hayden hung out with some of his favorite and most frequent babysitters....Aunt Sandra and Cousin Haley.

Then Saturday we had lunch with Dana, spent some time at Matt and Carrie's and then had dinner and spent the evening with Maggie. We got up on Sunday morning and grabbed brunch with Sue and Gary all before heading home to greet GiGi and Pop who were returning from a weekend away. It was a fun weekend spent juggling Hayden, Tess and Sophie!

The beginning of the following week was just as packed! GiGi to stay with us on Tuesday night so Tyler and I could go to the Train/Maroon 5 concert. Uncle Joel was in town for the concert, so he stopped by to see Hayden and teach him to "Float Away" for the first time. Joel used to make me float away when I was a little girl, so he has been patiently waiting for Hayden's neck to be strong enough to hold his head up when he floats away. We are definitely there, and now that we're officially floating I'm not sure who enjoyed it more.

In addition to hanging with Hayden on Tuesday night, GiGi hung around for the day on Wednesday so I could cash in on my fabulous birthday gift from my sweet husband...a FULL DAY at the Spa down in Ballantyne. I drove down in the morning and enjoyed a massage, a wrap and a pedicure with lunch, champagne and naps in between. As much as I missed the little guy, it was really wonderful to have some quiet time to myself. A HUGE thank you to Tyler and GiGi for making this happen....it was beyond enjoyed and appreciated!!

While I was away, GiGi worked on putting together Hayden's bouncing activity center. His feet aren't even close to hitting the ground yet, but he hung out in it long enough for me to grab a couple of pictures.

I also snagged a couple smiley pictures on my phone...

Eighteen Weeks Old

We had a busy week as we celebrated Hayden's 4 month birthday! We started with a playdate at the mall playground. Hayden is too little to play, but he LOVED watching the big kids go at it. He sat for a couple of hours and just took it all in.

I grabbed this quick picture of him before we met our new friends. He cracks me up...holding on tight to Moo. :)

We snuck in a quick and very wiggly (BLURRY) 4 month photo shoot before heading to Greensboro for the weekend. 

Tyler was off on a Boys Baseball trip with the men in my family, so Hayden and I had plans to spend the weekend with the ladies. Tyler and the guys left early Friday morning and arrived in Baltimore to catch the Orioles game that night. Then Saturday morning they drove north to Philadelphia to see the Phillies play in the afternoon and grab a good Italian meal that night. Then Sunday was the long trek home after a wonderful weekend of stadiums, baseball and some very delicious food!

While we were in Greensboro, I enjoyed a wonderful facial and my first full night's rest since Hayden was born. My amazing mother has gotten up with Hayden while staying at our house, but I still woke up to him crying. Well this weekend, Tess and I camped out in the basement one night. I don't think either of us knew what to do with ourselves!! I was SO grateful for the full night of uninterrupted sleep....but then it was back to the reality of our incredible little guy, who just hasn't quite figured out this whole sleep business.

Also over the weekend I snapped some Senior Pictures for my cousin Haley. I'm not sure when this all happened, but HOLY COW she's a SENIOR in High School!! We had fun beating the heat early on Saturday morning and I just love what we ended up with. Here are a couple shots that I'm crazy about...she's SO stunning!

We headed home on Sunday once the boys made it back in the afternoon. Tyler had a busy week of traveling for work ahead of him and Hayden and I headed to the doctor for his 4 month appointment on Tuesday. He got great marks across the board and rocked his shots yet again. He is weighing in at 14 pounds exactly and is just over 25 inches long. He is in size 1 diapers still, but not for much longer. He is wearing 3-6 month clothes, depending on the outfit, and still living in onesies and footie pajamas when we are at the house. He is accepting tummy time a little more and more each day and is starting to put his hands (and anything else he can grab) directly into his mouth. He is really a gem during the day...now if only we could get this sleep stuff figured out!

Seventeen Weeks Old

This week started with another play date with a Mom and little girl who happen to now make up one third of our weekly mini playgroup. :) Then on Friday our good friends Matt and Sarah came into town to meet Hayden. While we always love to have them, and I think Hayden was happy to meet them, Tess always LOVES when they come to visit! They brought their dog Brooks to play with Tess and I think Sarah (with her generous food sharing) is one of Tess' FAVORITE people!!

We stayed in on Friday night in hopes of spending Saturday outside, before checking out a new restaurant as part of Charlotte's Restaurant Week. The weather made other plans, so off to the bowling alley we went. I wasn't sure how Hayden would do with the banging bowling balls and falling pins, but as you can see below...he slept through it all just fine! He had a nap and a bottle at the bowling alley and even got an extra hello from our friend Tyler who stopped by for a quick visit. Then we were off to a tasty dinner that night!

This weekend marked wedding anniversaries for both mine and Tyler's parents. Tyler's parents celebrated their 31st and mine, their 30th! We are so lucky to have such wonderful role models. :)

Early in the next week Hayden and I headed down into the city to meet up with an old friend of mine from home. I think we'd been trying to plan this lunch date for a few months! Finally the stars aligned and we enjoyed Cabo Fish Taco and a couple of hours catching up. I just love it when people move to Charlotte!!

I grabbed a couple quick pictures of the little guy playing so hard that he crashed....he makes me smile!